


Quiet Contemplations In A Cabin

by laughy_sapphy_writes



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Arthur is an awkward mess, Cabin Fic, Confessions, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mild Language, because i'm bi and i also want to smooch tom hardy, bi arthur, dream fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:47:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23028784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laughy_sapphy_writes/pseuds/laughy_sapphy_writes
Summary: Arthur stands in a cabin of his own creation, sharing his thoughts with Ariadne about work and... other points of interest.
Relationships: Ariadne & Arthur (Inception), Arthur/Eames (Inception)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 56





	Quiet Contemplations In A Cabin

Arthur looked out the window from his forest cabin and watched as the snow fell. He knew that it wasn’t real and that he was actually in a warehouse somewhere in eastern Georgia awaiting the next day of job preparation, but nevertheless, he felt calm looking out into the cold outside. Sure, it might’ve been selfish of him to use the Pasiv technology for personal reasons, and the extractor of the job would certainly give him hell for it, but he had desperately needed time to clear his head. His line of work was stressful, to say the least, and it sucked that because of it he felt on edge every time he fell asleep. It also didn’t help that the lives of everyone else on his team hinged on him, and even if they weren’t dead for longer than a few moments, it could result in the entire mission’s failure.

Sometimes Arthur asked himself why he still did this job, for his life would be far easier without its connections to a criminal life. There were many legal jobs out there that would benefit from his quick and precise nature, ones that could lead to a life filled with the safety and security that he desperately hoped for. Sure, those jobs wouldn’t pay half as well as inception would, but at least this way he wouldn’t have to lie through his teeth whenever his mom asked him what he did for a living. He would absolutely miss the thrill of dream-sharing and the feeling of freedom it gave him, but who knows, maybe could take up knitting like his aunt did to help with her alcohol addiction. He had thought this through so many times, and there were points where he was moments away from throwing in the towel. Then, he would get a message from one of his colleagues and he would suddenly remember why he got into this job in the first place.

The real reason that he stuck around with this dangerous job through thick and thin was for the community of it all. And yes, that might’ve been extremely cheesy of him, but it was true. Walking into work would always be worth it if he got to see his friends there, chatting away and coming up with game plans. The people that he did these missions with were like a second family to him, whether it be the strong and supportive Cobb, the nervous jerk that was Nash, the kind and thoughtful Mal, the beautiful and brilliant Ariadne, and… Eames.

God, where the hell was he supposed to start with Eames.

Eames was an asshole, first and foremost. Every time that he opened his mouth, there was a 90% chance that he was going to say something that would piss Arthur off. He would do things specifically designed to get on Arthur’s nerves, and it was never for any real reason other than general amusement. His strategies, while usually effective, were incredibly sloppy and hard to really pick up on. He always forgot to tuck in his shirt, and if Arthur wasn’t certain that he would be chastised for it, he would definitely tuck it in himself so it wouldn’t bother him every single day. Whenever Eames messaged Arthur for details on a job, he would use “u” and “r” in place of “you” and “are” even though he was a grown-ass-adult that could easily just text like a normal person. And yet, despite every single reason that Arthur had to utterly loathe Eames and everything that he stood for, Arthur had been in love with him since the day they had met. 

Arthur sighed. He knew how unhealthy it was to obsess over someone as egotistic as Eames, and yet he couldn’t let himself think for two minutes straight without imagining Eames’s smirk, or his stubble, or his hair, or his eyes, or his jawline, or his stupid shirt that needed to be tucked in-

Suddenly, Arthur heard a knock on the door. He turned and saw Ariadne standing in the doorway to his room, waving shyly and tucking her hair behind her ear. Arthur wasn’t sure if she was a part of his subconscious or not, but he was fairly certain that he could detect whether she was a projection or not. As it stood, he couldn’t identify anything that would allude to her not being real.

“Um, hello, Ariadne. How exactly did you get here?” Arthur asked, a little nervously.

“I’m working as the architect for this job and I saw that you were in the warehouse. I decided to pop in here to make sure that you weren’t having any intruding thoughts that would get in the way of my design,” Ariadne replied, looking around the room of the cabin.

“Well, I can assure that this dream has no personal meaning to me whatsoever, so you have nothing to worry about. Now, will that be all?”

At that question, Ariadne looked suddenly very timid. She started tugging on her jacket’s sleeve and diverted her eyes toward the floor. While she had looked mildly uncomfortable when first entering the room, it was clear that the question was making her discomfort rise. After a moment’s deliberation, she cleared her throat and gave her response.

“I actually do have a question that I’d like to ask you. You see, we’ve been doing a lot of missions together recently, and they’ve been a blast, honestly. You’re always so nice to me, and I really appreciate how much help you’ve given me in showing me the ropes,” Ariadne began. Arthur nodded along to what she was saying, not sure what she was meant to be implying. The architect cleared her throat and continued with what she was saying.

“So, I’ve been wondering… what are we? Be totally candid with me, I want to know,” she finally asked, looking Arthur straight in the eyes with evident worry.

“Well, we’re currently humans interacting in a dream realm, which I suppose would make us visions, but since we have complete consciousness we can still be classified as living people, I suppose. I have my totem on me if you want to check-”

“No, I mean, what are we in terms of… relationship status? I thought we were just friends, but ever since that kiss during the Fischer job I haven’t been sure.”

Arthur was taken aback by that statement. In all honesty, he only vaguely remembered the kiss in question, and what he did remember about the occasion was that he did it as a way to get projections off his back. He probably should have thought about what it would’ve meant to the new, impressionable architect and how, to her, it probably seemed like desperate means of flirting. He silently cursed himself and thought about how he would respond to her question, and how he was supposed to explain that he was just using her to benefit the mission. After all, it wasn’t like he hated the idea of being with her, his interests were just… elsewhere.

“Ariadne, listen,” Arthur took a deep breath before continuing. “I think that you’re amazing. Look at you, you’re smart, you’re sweet, you’re honest, and you’re very pretty. Anybody would be lucky to be with you. I just don’t think that person should be me.”

“Why not?” Ariadne asked, furrowing her brows.

“Well, for starters, you’re too young for me. I don’t think that I can date someone who unironically wears infinity scarves, either. Also, I heard you snore during your first dream-sharing experiments, and I don’t want to have to wake up to that in the middle of the night. The main reason, though, is that I’m just into someone else at the moment,” Arthur told her truthfully.

“I don’t suppose that you could tell me who this person is, could you?”

“I’d rather die a slow, miserable death.”

“Don’t you think it would be better for you to be honest about your thoughts, though? I don’t want your crush haunting our job and getting in the way of our work. Remember how much of a nightmare the Mal situation was?”

“Err, yes, but I’ve been interested in this person for years and it hasn’t compromised any of my jobs yet.”

“Still, don’t I at least deserve to know who you turned me down for? I’d just like to know that you’re stinging me out for someone good so I don’t have to be too offended.”

Arthur turned away from Ariadne and stared back out into the snow. He really contemplated telling her about his feelings, but he knew that it was going to blow up in his face no matter what. If he told her and she judged him, then he could quickly say goodbye to their friendship, but if he didn’t tell her she would just pester him about it until it got out of hand. If he told her, then she might tell everyone in sight and ruin his credibility, but if he didn’t, he might be so filled with regret that Eames’s projection really would be getting in the way of their missions. Arthur finally took a deliberate breath and prepared for the worst.

“If I do tell you, you’re going to think I’m idiotic,” Arthur said, tapping his fingers on the bottom of the windowsill.

“Please, I had a crush on the Pillsbury Dough Boy for five years, I’m sure you can’t do worse than that.”

That statement was debatable. Sure, being in love with a fictional white blob in a chef’s hat was embarrassing, but it was at least better than falling for Eames. I mean, really, what kind of honorable man would let himself become enamored by someone as unprofessional as Eames? Even if Eames had credit and respect behind his name, it didn’t excuse the fact that he was everything Arthur usually hated in a person. Although Arthur knew that he should tell Ariadne, he was too afraid of what would happen because of it. Not only would it make him seem less respectable, but it would also mean that his feelings weren’t just thoughts in his head and that they were more legitimate. And even though he had the sneaking suspicion for a while that it was more than just a simple crush, he wasn’t ready to truly admit it to himself yet. Maybe today could be the day, though.

“Do you promise that what I say, here and now, will not leave this room?” Arthur asked, still staring out into the falling snow. 

“Absolutely, you have my full trust. Scout’s honor,” Ariadne assured him. Although he couldn’t see her, Arthur assumed that she was crossing her heart to add to the effect.

“Okay, then. For the past five years or so, I’ve been in love with a man whom I happen to work with. He can be very irritating at times, but he’s always there for the team, and for me,” Arthur shared, choosing his words carefully.

“Who? Cobb?” Ariadne asked.

“No. Eames.”

A silence fell upon the small cabin. For a minute, the only thing that could be heard was the winds coming from outside, blowing the snow every which way. With every passing second, Arthur became more afraid that this point in time was the end of his career. The lack of a reaction on Ariadne’s part was evident enough that he had made the wrong mistake by telling her. Arthur pressed his forehead against the windowpane and sighed, trying to think of some way to wake him up from this terrible dream. When the silence finally ended, the first noise came from a much different source than Arthur had been expecting. 

“Oh, darling, that is such a relief to hear,” the voice said.

Arthur’s heat jolted upright, and his posture straightened itself. He knew that voice by heart, he had heard it in his dreams, yet he didn’t know what it could’ve been doing here, at this point in time. He hadn’t heard anyone else come into the room after Ariadne. It seemed impossible that the scoundrel could even be there right then. Arthur turned around to make sure that his ears weren’t fooling him.

Sure enough, Eames was standing there. Right where Ariadne had been.

As if she had never been there at all.

“You son of a bitch,” Arthur managed to breathe out before Eames’s strong lips pressed against his own.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so so much for reading this! This is my first fanfic on AO3, and I've been out of the writing game for so long that I hope this isn't entirely cringey. Please share your thoughts with me, I'd really appreciate it!


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